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United Kingdom: “Some major government departments have a record of frequent and persistent delays and unhelpfulness in their handling of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests,” according to a BBC article by Martin Rosenbaum. The Cabinet Office and the Home Office have the worst records. Canada: Proposed FOI amendments meet a rocky reception. The Star reports […]

Malaysia: A three-judge panel rejects a parliamentarian’s request for information based on the Constitution, according to an article in Free Malaysia Today. The court in its decision notes the lack of a national FOI law. United Kingdom: The Campaign for Freedom of Information warns that proposed reforms to the Official Secrets Act would put it […]

Italy: The new law on administrative transparency has not generated the expected results, according to report described in R.it (in Italian). Of 800 applications sent by 56 volunteers, seven out of ten received no reply within the 30 days provided for by law, according to study by Diritto di Sapere (Right to Know). See official data on the […]

Malawi: After an unexplained delay, President Peter Mutharika signs to the ATI bill passed last December, according to a Nyasa Times article, making Malawi the 22nd African nation with a FOI regime. Pakistan: A Senate Select Committee approves an RTI bill (text not immediately available), reports Dawn and The Nation. A new clause covers footage from […]

Nigeria: A court victory for a group of requesters seeking access to documents concerning the Niger Delta Development Commission. An opinion from the court states that the right to information is a human right, awards fees to the requesters and fines the respondents. In another development, The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative unveiled two documents designed to […]

Poland: The Chairman of the lower chamber of the Polish Parliament (Sejm) proposed to repeal provisions of the Polish Constitution that guarantee the Right to Information, writes Krzysztof Izdebski, Policy Director of ePaństwo Foundation. EU: European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly recommends that the European Commission systematically obtain consent to publish the names of public officials charged […]

Environmental Transparency: The Regional Alliance for Free Expression and Information submitted comments on the chapter on access to environmental information under the fifth round of the negotiating committee of Principle 10, held in Cepal between Nov. 22 and 25 in Santiago de Chile. Access the document here . Philippines: Implementation of the executive order on […]

Zambia: The Civil Society Coalition on Access to Information Law urges speeding up the process of enacting an access to information law despite the failed referendum on the Bill of Rights, reports The Lusaka Times. Nigeria: Right to Know Nigeria reports widespread non-compliance with the 2011 FOIA, issuing a report stating that “ministries, departments and […]

India: The Central Information Commission compiles a “frequently asked questions” list for 70 central ministries. “The Commission is now sitting down with each ministry to brief them on how to proactively disclose information on their websites on these subjects so that fewer applicants file requests under Right to Information (RTI) Act,” reports The Economic Times. […]

Hungary/OGP: An OGP committee agrees with civil society complaints about Hungary, the OGP announces. The Criteria and Standards subcommittee conducted a review of the evidence presented in the letter. The subcommittee adopted a report which found the concerns expressed in the letter to be relevant to the government of Hungary’s participation in OGP and to […]

OGP Contest: “Making Transparency Count” is the focus of a new OGP contest, deadline June 27. Read more here. Nigeria: “The Nigerian government has released statement declaring the total amount of cash recovered from looters of the federal treasury since the inception of President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure. A statement issued by the Minister of Information, […]

Below is the concluding chapter from the April 2016 report by the Carter Center on its examination of selected agencies in Uganda using the Center’s Access to Information Legislation Implementation Assessment Tool, which is described in the report. Nigeria adopted a Freedom of Information law on May 28, 2011 when former President Goodluck Jonathan signed […]

The World Bank has partially denied an appeal by a Nigerian group for information about allegedly embezzled funds. The World Bank said the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) was 15 days too late to appeal and thus declined to examine SERAP’s contention that the Bank had failed to provide all of the requested information. However, […]

By Eugene Enahoro The author describes himself on Twitter as an “HR & Capacity Development professional who writes Tuesday Column in Daily Trust Newspaper and concerns himself only with important matters.” This opinion article was first published in The Daily Trust. As the nation prepares to celebrate 17 years of uninterrupted civilian rule it’s quite […]

Right To Know (R2K), Nigeria and the Bureau for Public Service Reforms (BPSR) have launched a Freedom of Information portal designed to receive electronic FOI requests to the bureau. “This innovative website which is the first of it’s kind by any public institution in Nigeria has made it possible for the BPSR to fulfill it’s […]

The Nigerian Federal High Court has ruled that the government must disclose information about stolen public funds, rejecting a government argument that the request covered a period before enactment of the freedom of information act. The court ordered the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to “ensure that his government, and the governments of former President […]

Nigeria: In order to sensitize youths on their rights to access information from public institutions, the Lagos State chapter of the National Youth Service Corps inaugurates a new Community Development Service group — the Freedom of Information Act Club. United Kingdom: FOIA requests are more effective than informal inquiries, according to a new paper: “Transparency […]

A Nigerian non-governmental organization has asked the World Bank to reconsider its denial of information about corruption by a former general and de facto Nigerian president. The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent an appeal to Access to Information (AI) Appeals Board challenging the World Bank’s Nov. 25, 2015, decision “to provide patently […]

United Nations: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he has established a task force to recommend measures to make the office of the president of the U.N. General Assembly more transparent and accountable following the arrest of former assembly president John Ashe, AP reports. United Kingdom: The Commission on Freedom of Information has condemned as “extraordinarily inappropriate” […]

Canada: A coalition of 22 NGOs says it has received promises from the NDP and Liberal parties to substantively improve the access to information system if elected, a pledge with weight following the Liberal victory in the elections. Newspapers Canada recently released its ninth annual National Freedom of Information Audit report, saying the law is “effectively […]